Djurgården Faces Injury Worries as HV71 Struggles Prompt Urgent Decisions

Djurgården's left-back Keita Kosugi was forced off at halftime in a recent match against IFK Värnamo due to an ankle injury sustained early in the game. Despite twisting his ankle, Kosugi played the first half but was substituted as a precaution. Both Kosugi and coach Jani Honkavaara described the injury as a normal sprain, with hopes for a quick recovery before their next Allsvenskan match against IFK Göteborg. Kosugi remained optimistic, stating it seems nothing serious while emphasizing he will do his best to return promptly. Meanwhile, HV71 is enduring a severe performance crisis, having lost 15 matches and amassed only 10 points this season. Following a heavy 5-0 defeat to Rögle, coach Anton Blomqvist appeared disheartened, with the club's sports manager Björn Liljander reconsidering his prior reluctance to make drastic changes such as firing the coach or key players. The lack of effective scoring, especially from the center positions who have managed only seven goals collectively, compared to high-performing counterparts in other teams, has intensified calls for strategic overhaul. Liljander acknowledged that HV71 might need to adopt more traditional decision-making to avoid further decline ahead of upcoming matches including those versus Linköping and Djurgården.